Remembering Mr Pink
by hollyhobbit101
Summary: Clara is struggling to cope with the death of Danny Pink. On the way to work one morning, the memories of Danny come flooding back.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters in it.**

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><p><span>Remembering Mr Pink<span>

Her world was crashing down around her ears and she was powerless to stop it. He couldn't be gone. Not Danny Pink. Not her Danny Pink. It was all her fault. She was the one who had called him. She was the one who had distracted him and got him run over. He was dead and it was all her fault.

She tried to stop the tears. She hadn't been to work for a while and, while she was still getting paid (the headmaster had said it was understandable taking time off), she needed a distraction. She walked into the bathroom and dried her eyes. She silently promised herself that Clara Oswald would not cry again until she found a way to persuade the Doctor to get Danny back.

As she was walking to Coal Hill School she passed the place where he had died. She gazed at the memorial board, at his face smiling up at her from the many pictures. She felt tears building in her eyes and forced them back down. She would not cry. Her students needed to see her strong. She managed to supress the tears but what she couldn't stop was the flood of memories that overwhelmed her.

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><p><strong>So, how did you like it? Please review and I am also accepting requests for this story. if you have any ideas of what Danny and Clara could have got up to, please post them in the review section or PM me.<strong>


	2. The Beginning

**I may as well warn you now, I am a horrible updater. Updates will be erratic but I will get them up ASAP.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters in it.<strong>

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><p><span>The Beginning<span>

Clara's POV  
>At first he was just a work colleague, a friend. Sure, he was nice enough but he wasn't someone she loved. But she started to notice little things about him. Like the way he always slowed down when he passed her classroom. Or the way he invited her for a cuppa after school. Or the way his breath hitched in his throat when he spoke to her. She caught him staring at her fondly in the staff room, like he'd been admiring her. He even blushed slightly when she asked him back to her flat. He'd had her round so often, she felt like it was time to return the favour.<p>

He was very sweet to her and always greeted her in the staff room when she came in in the morning. He seemed to be quite fond of her and somehow his voice sounded different when he spoke to her than when he spoke to other staff. And maybe, just maybe, she might be fond of him too.

Danny's POV  
>He couldn't stop looking at her. She was beautiful. It wasn't just on the outside although her rosy cheeks and round, innocent face added to it. She had this wonderful laugh that made him feel happy whenever he heard it. She seemed to be constantly smiling and had this way of cheering him up if he felt down that no one else had.<p>

It might sound corny but as soon as he saw her, he knew she was the one. He looked forward to seeing her every day and, if she ever took a day off, he would check to see if she was okay. Oh well. She was way out of his league. He was just some battle-worn maths teacher who still screamed at night from the nightmares of his days as a soldier. He shook his head. God, he sounded like some love-sick idiot! Which he definitely wasn't. No, siree, not Danny Pink.

He was on his way out of school when he bumped into Miss Oswald. Literally. He was so deep in thought that he walked straight into her and knocked her papers out of her arms.  
>'I'm sorry! Here, let me help you.'<br>He bent down and started picking up her things with her. He presented his neatly stacked pile to her.  
>'Why, thank you, Mr Pink.'<br>'My pleasure Miss Oswald.'  
>The two of them stood in silence for a while, each wanting to say something but neither having the courage to do it. Danny screwed up all of his courage and opened his mouth to speak.<br>'So… Nice weather.' He mentally kicked himself. Who talks about the weather?  
>'Yes. Did you have a good day?'<br>'Yes. You?'  
>'No worse than usual.'<br>He nodded, effectively killing the conversation. _Really Danny? _He chided himself. _Is that really how you speak to a girl?_ He decided to try again.  
>'So… Do you want to come round to mine for dinner on Wednesday?' That was better.<br>'Yeah. I mean I'd love to, if that's okay.'  
>'Sure. See you, then.'<br>'Bye.'  
>As he watched her walk down the drive, a smile began to creep up his face. It was a good start.<p>

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><p><strong>Sorry it was so short! I'll try and make future chapters longer. If you want to post suggestions, review or PM me. <strong>


	3. Trying to Cope

**I apologise to everyone reading this about the long wait from the last chapter! Here it is finally. Thanks go to GriffinGirl8655 for prompting this story.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters in it.<strong>

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><p><span>Trying to Cope<span>

Danny's POV  
>He was running through the shattered streets. His team were around him, all running towards the same checkpoint. There was firing everywhere, firing from the enemy, firing from the allies. He was joining them, not aiming, just firing, firing, firing into the smoke and the fog.<p>

_Bang, bang, bang. _Shots being fired, seemingly hitting everyone but him. He heard movement from an alley. He stuck his gun in and fired once, twice, three times. He spared a glance as he ran past and saw something he would never forget. A boy was staring at him. He was standing, unhurt, or so it seemed. But then he clutched his stomach and fell down.

Killed by a bullet. Danny's bullet.

Danny tore his gaze away from the body of the boy. He looked so small in death. He ran on and made it to the checkpoint without getting injured. He sat down in a corner, put his head in his hands and cried.

He woke up with tears on his face and he was shaking with fear. He just couldn't forget that little boy and what he'd done. He felt tears welling up and buried his face in the pillow. He had to be strong, had to put on a brave face.

The alarm clock said it was 2:23 am. He should go back to sleep. He would, only he knew that, as soon as he closed his eyes, the strange place called Nightmare would claim him once more. He couldn't concentrate on reading. Nor could he on marking; the little boy just wouldn't go away. Eventually he decided to get some breakfast.

He wearily put some bread in the toaster and waited. It was the last straw when, when he took his toast out, he thought he saw the face of the little boy on the burnt bits. He sobbed and trembled until he found himself on the floor of the kitchen. He succumbed to sleep only to face worse dreams than before.

Clara's POV  
>The teachers were all gathered to an early morning briefing from the Head when Danny walked in late. He mumbled his apologies and settled down to listen. The others just nodded in greeting but Clara noticed that something seemed wrong this morning.<p>

He looked, to say the least, a complete shambles. His tie wasn't done right, his shirt was half untucked and his hair was sticking up all over the place. On top of all that, he had huge, dark bags the size of suitcases under his eyes.

She was worried about him so, at dinner break, she asked him if he was okay.  
>'I'm fine. Just had a bad night, that's all.'<br>But Clara knew when people were most definitely not fine. She needed to help him or it would only get worse. She determined to keep pestering him until she found out what was bothering him.

Danny's POV  
>He hadn't planned to tell anyone about it. They were all nice, don't get him wrong, but he just didn't want to share. But Miss Oswald was very stubborn.<br>'You know I'm always here for you,' she would say. 'Please, Danny, just tell me what's wrong.'

So he did. She listened as he told her about his trials as a soldier. He told her about how nightmares would keep him awake at night and how the people you see die out there never really leave you.

But he didn't mention the little boy.

After he finished, she stayed silent for a while. Danny wondered if he'd overdone it a little, scared her maybe. Instead, she put her arm round him and whispered that it would be okay. That she would always be there for him, no matter what.

And he believed her.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you to anyone who has reviewed this! I'd love some more and if you have a suggestion or I made a mistake or something, review or PM me. I'll try and shorten the wait between chapters as well. I didn't mean to leave it this long!**


	4. Christmas Mayhem

**A/N: Just a quick note to say thanks to anyone who's reviewed, followed and faved. Thank you!  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.<strong>

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><p><span>Christmas Mayhem<span>

Clara's POV  
><em>BEEP BEEP BEEP! <em>The sound of Clara's alarm clock woke her up suddenly. She dimly wondered why she had set her alarm for Christmas Day. She never normally did. Usually she spent Christmas alone or with friends. She pondered this for a second before remembering that she had invited Danny for Christmas dinner and she needed to get everything prepared before he arrived. She groaned and groggily got out of bed.

She stumbled into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. She started to prepare the potatoes and left them to on a low heat whilst she had a quick shower.

She was sitting on the bed with her hair dripping down the back of her clothes when she smelt something burning. It took her a moment to realize what it was. She rushed downstairs to find them blackened and burnt.

_It's okay_ she told herself. _You've got plenty of time. They don't matter anyway._ She checked the turkey in the slow cooker (she'd heard it was better when you put it in the night before.) only to find that smoke billowed out of it and the turkey was completely over-done. The smoke alarm started beeping and the noise cut through her head. Now, Clara was the first to admit she wasn't the best cook but this was an especially bad day.

Then she heard the knock at the door.

Danny's POV  
>He chuckled as he heard her marching to the door. Well, not so much marching, more like raging.<p>

'I don't care who you are or what you want but I'm warning you now, I'm having a very bad day and I am not feeling especially charitable even though it's Christmas D- Oh. It's you, Danny. Sorry.'

He laughed. 'Don't worry about it Clara. I thought you might need a bit of help which is why I came early. And I brought food. Just a few snacks, I mean it's hardly a full Christmas dinner but, you know, I thought it might help a bit. Maybe?'

'Thank you so much. You would not believe the day I've been having. Oh, sorry, come in. I sort of forgot we were standing out here.'

He laughed again. This was the Clara he loved: awkward, funny, smart. He walked in and saw what could only be described as a complete shambles. He helped her tidy up everything as best they could.

The rest of the day was spent watching corny Christmas films cuddled up on the settee and talking about anything as only people very close to each other could.

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><p><strong>Sorry about the bad ending. I wasn't sure how to end it so I just wrote something really quickly. Sorry also about it being really short. This one was a bit rushed. I'm still open to requests too.<strong>


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